About the Author
Cathy Boyd Byrd invites others to join her in considering topics of interest to those on the Christian spiritual journey…..discipleship, spirituality, mental health, Christian growth, and Bible study. Cathy enjoys working with others as they transition from emotional emergency and brokenness to spiritual emergence and abundant living! Many of the topics about which Cathy writes are interrelated as experienced in her own life and in the lives of those with whom she works in counseling, teaching, and case management, and in friendships. She believes that sharing our journey of Christian growth and spirituality helps us know God and ourselves better and connects us with others!
Cathy is a Christian Educator and Life Recovery Counselor, and an ordained deacon through Christian Leaders Institute. She serves as Community Outreach MInister at Lynn Haven United Methodist Church. She is a student (disciple) of the Holy Spirit and shares with her students (disciples) the things the Lord teaches her through Bible study and contemplation, incorporating experiences interpreted through the Word, cherished traditions of her faith, and reasoning that comes from seeking the mind of Christ in accountable community. She was widowed in August 2020 after 48 years of marriage to Bill Byrd, is mother of 2 and grandmother of 5. Her journey of faith has been lifelong and continues to be an adventure with the trailblazer and guide, Jesus Christ!
Cathy is the founder and program manager for a Christian women’s residential life recovery program, Titus 2 Partnership, Inc.(www.titus2.life) in Panama City, Florida.
Examples From Personal Stories of Discerning Spirits
God gives the gift of discerning spirits to some believers....I have heard a variety of stories from many who have it. Sometimes one sees contortions of facial features when an evil spirit is present. One person actually saw the face of a skeleton on someone. That vision of death on someone was observed by two people at the same time. Sometimes one hears the spirit speaking without the affected person being aware of it. Sometimes one sees a foreboding aura or shadow around a person. Sometimes one feels the hair rise on the neck or arms. Sometimes one feels a strong tightening in the core and...
Discerning and Confronting Evil
I have been a strong advocate for kicking the smoking habit for years. I’ve never been a smoker, but I have had some family members whose health consequences of smoking- emphysema, COPD, cancer, etc.- made me adamant about it not being a part of my own family’s lives. When I began in addiction recovery ministry, I investigated the impact of smoking cessation on successful outcomes for other addictive substances. What I found led me to train with the Bay County Health Department to be a certified smoking cessation class facilitator and to incorporate smoking cessation into the addiction...
Unity: Key to Success at Sharing Ramadan June 30, 2016
Thank you for the invitation to speak about unity……which can be a challenge in today’s world. We are blessed to live in a community where people live together with mutual acceptance and goodwill, affording one another the freedom to pursue one’s financial, educational, social, religious, and other goals. On September 11, 2001 when tragic events unfolded in New York, I was far from home and immediately felt fear and anxiety on behalf of my community and friends and neighbors who might encounter anger. I prayed for our community and set out to demonstrate my solidarity with...
Enjoying God’s Favor
John 1:16-18 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) 16 For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [have all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift. 17 For while the Law was given through Moses, grace ([a]unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No man has ever seen God at any time; the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of...
The Desire for Transformational Healing Observed in David’s Plea
Reflection on Psalm 51 and the Heart of Transformative Change Psalm 51: 7, 10 “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow…….. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” This Scripture is the memory verse for Step 7 in the Twelve Step study that we use with women at Titus 2. Today I was considering these verses as a young lady and I discussed this Step and I had these thoughts about it: This series of requests for cleansing by the Psalmist depicts a familiar pattern in Scripture…..a progressive movement. The...
Open My Eyes
I'm reading "Touching Heaven" by Dr. Chauncey Crandall, recommended by women in my Sunday life group at church. "God surrounds every one of us with His kingdom at every turn - with messages and messengers, signs and gifts - and He has given it all to us so that we would turn our eyes and hearts toward Him. Some people don't notice because they doubt that He cares. Many more, though, are missing daily hints of Him simply because they're not paying attention." I remember a... day when I stood outside my church 20 or so years ago and cried as I sang. I was waiting for someone, something....but...
Tribute to a Counselor
"Jesus didn't wait for a crowd of perfectly well adjusted disciples to turn up; he appointed a real mixed bag of personalities, in spite of their weaknesses and struggles. There's a place for everyone in the Church and it breaks my heart when I hear of people who've been stripped of responsibilities with no explanation or discussion, and all because of their mental health. In all circumstances there are ways of doing things that are honoring and encouraging, so be a kind church. Make sure everyone feels valued." A struggle doesn't mean a diluted or broken faith. In fact it's often quite the...
Friends Never Leave Our Hearts
Bill and I have been in a long season of transition over the last three years. Yesterday as I prepared a home cooked meal and last evening as we enjoyed a leisurely dinner and conversation with friends, I realized that life is more stable and less stressed than it has been in a long time. The students of Titus 2 are in excellent positions to complete their life recovery plans over the next few months. The gratitude I feel to God for his close presence with us and for speaking through his Word, his Holy Spirit, godly friends, and within the circumstances of our lives is immeasurable. As I...
Knowing God’s Name…..Knowing God
“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” Psalm 8:1-4 Our current church study of The Prayer of Jabez has reminded me that as we read through Scripture we can see the importance of names. We can also see in Scripture that God has many Names and descriptions and each reveals Him in a different way. One of the...
Genogram as Community-Building Tool
Over the years I have observed genogram discussion sessions with Dr. Michael Carns, a skilled family and marriage counseling educator and practitioner with over 35 years’ experience, as he invited the Titus 2 students into this tool of self-discovery. A genogram is a family diagram, which can be thought of as an elaboration of the family tree. Genograms provide a way of mapping family patterns. In the sessions students, guided by Dr. Carns, look at the family dynamics from the standpoint of one’s relationship to others in things like ages and age differentials, sibling birth order,...